By IANS,
Chandigarh : Following widespread protests by the trader community for the last one week, barricades and police checkpoints put up at the entry points of the vegetables and grain market here were removed Friday morning.
With this decision of the administration, the traders at the grain market have also decided to end their two-day old strike. Representatives of various market associations had also joined the Grain Market Committee (GMC) in their protest.
These barricades were set up at four entry points of the grain market in sector 26 Jan 1 on the instructions of Chandigarh Administrator S.F. Rodrigues.
According to officials, the barricades were erected to improve the security arrangements in the area and to keep a tab on every vehicle entering the market.
“We met S.F. Rodrigues Thursday evening and our meeting went on for over an hour. Various other senior officials of the administration were also present during the meeting. They have assured us that the barricades will be lifted and promised us full cooperation in future,” GMC director Jujhar Singh Badheri told IANS Friday.
Various political parties like the Congress, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) had collectively came out in support of the traders.
“At Thursday’s meeting, it has been decided that a core group comprising of traders and administration officials will be formed to look into the problems of grain market,” said a spokesperson of Chandigarh administration Friday.
The vegetables and grain market at sector 26 is one of the biggest in the region. Over 500 licensed traders ply their business from here while around 25,000 people are directly associated with it.